“People these days are more worried about counting calories,” said Schoning.

He says just losing calories could mean you’re cutting out one very important source to losing weight and energy.

“Protein is a good for our metabolism, our muscle tissue, just overall everything and like I said, most people are lacking it,” said Schoning.

The next time you try to replace a meal, he’s says to shake things up on your diet. It’s as simple as adding a protein powder to water and giving it a good shake. Schoning says use this to replace meals, especially breakfast, and don’t get discouraged if you hear a growling stomach.

“A lot of people say, well, you know, I had a shake for breakfast, but I’m hungry two hours later,” said Schoning. “That’s the way our bodies work. That means your metabolism is working, which is a good thing. ”

Instead of water, you can also mix protein powder with juice or milk. Powder will typically cost you about $30 or more, but Schoning says that equals about 24 meals.

“You have to think, most fast food meals are what, five to six bucks versus something like this” said Schoning. You have something like this and a scoop of fruit, you know, that’s a dollar something per meal.”